Thursday, 23 November 2017

ABUSE - SEXUAL ASSAULT - THE FALLOUT

Adelaide school covers up 'potentially suggestive' statue of saint and child

Blackfriars Priory school covers statue of St Martin de Porres that depicted saint handing a loaf of bread to a young boy

Australian Associated Press

A new statue at a Catholic school in Adelaide has been covered up and will be remodelled over issues with it being “potentially suggestive”.

The statue of St Martin de Porres at Blackfriars Priory was unveiled recently and depicts the saint handing a loaf of bread to a young boy.

However, the unfortunate placement of the bread raised other connotations and the school apologised for any concerns the design may have caused.

Simon Cobiac, the principal, said concept plans for the statue, which was produced by a sculptor in Vietnam, were viewed and approved by the school’s executive team in May

“But upon arrival the three-dimensional statue was deemed by the executive to be potentially suggestive,” Cobiac said in a statement on Wednesday

“As a consequence, the statue was immediately covered and a local sculptor has been commissioned to re-design it.

Reaction on social media ranged from incredulity that the school allowed the statue to be put up in the first place, to amusement about the cover-up in black.

St Martin, a Dominican brother, was known for his tireless work for the poor and downtrodden in his native Peru during the 16th century. He was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI in 1837 and canonised by Pope John XXIII in 1962.

Details about Monsignor Hamill's resignation came in a statement from Bishop John McAreavey

A CATHOLIC priest has resigned from senior roles in the Dromore diocese following a child safeguarding investigation into a "historical complaint", the Bishop of Dromore has said.

Monsignor Aidan Hamill has stepped down as parish priest of St Peter's and St Paul's, Lurgan, and as vicar general in the Diocese of Dromore.

The retired priest will "take on other duties in the diocese appropriate to a restricted ministry and his skills", Bishop John McAreavey said.

It follows an investigation into a complaint made in 2014 against Monsignor Hamill, who is aged in his seventies.

A Dromore diocese spokesman said the complaint was "upheld", but they were unable to give further details.

Bishop John McAreavey said Monsignor Hamill "cooperated fully" with the investigation and voluntarily stepped down from active ministry when the probe began.

In a statement read out on Sunday in St Peter's and St Paul's, the bishop said: "Arising from the findings of those investigations, Monsignor Hamill has resigned as the parish priest of St Peter's and St Paul's, Lurgan, and as vicar general in the Diocese of Dromore.

"As a retired priest, Monsignor Hamill will take on other duties in the diocese appropriate to a restricted ministry and his skills."

'Restricted ministry' can include not being permitted to work with minors or lead church Masses.

Bishop John McAreavey said the diocese followed the Catholic church's national child-safeguarding procedures and the statutory authorities were informed.

"The church has a duty of care to protect young people and vulnerable adults and will always respond with both compassion and rigour when any allegation is made," he added.

"Again I ask those who feel that they may have been abused in a church context to make contact with the designated person within the diocese.

"When this matter first arose, I asked that you keep in your prayers all concerned. I ask you again to continue to do so."

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "In July 2014, police in Lurgan received a report of historical abuse from a third party. The report was investigated at the time but no formal complaint was made.

"As a result, the victim was advised that an investigation could not be progressed by police until a statement of complaint was made. They were also made aware that there is no time limit regarding the reporting of any historical incident to police and that they could do so at any point in the future. The appropriate contact details were provided.

"The PSNI regards child protection as a priority and would encourage anyone with any concerns or information in relation to the sexual abuse of children, whether it is historical or ongoing, to come forward and report it to police so that it can be investigated thoroughly.

"Police were not made aware of a statement issued by the Bishop of Dromore at the weekend."

PAT SAYS:

Any form of sexual abuse or assault - especially of minors - is a horrific crime - and should be investigated and prosecuted and attract a proper sentence.

Of late we are being bombarded with sexual assaults involving people like Al Porter.

It's like being in a submarine being constantly rocked and shaken by depth charges.

Victims should come forward.

Police and other authorities should act.

The courts should process.

But I'm not sure if the whole "trial by media" is helping even victims?

57 comments:

Bishop Pat, if you get a chance, watch "keepers," Netflix's latest documentary which tackles the unsolved murder of Cathy Cesnik who was a nun that attempted to stand up against injustice til her cost. The cover up by the institution is questionable....

LGBT rights / Human Rights are everybody's rights. Perhaps so called "Traditional Values" have been hijacked or perhaps they are what they always were, past ignorance, prejudice and persecution now being resurrected by a patriarchy that wants to regain it's power. I think they are the real "Submarines" and "Depth Charges!" Those of us that believe in freedom, equality and inclusiveness, should not let down our guard.https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/06/traditional-values-potent-weapon-against-lgbt-rights

I was made aware today of your blog yesterday regarding Conor Gannon. Just so that you are aware that the Staff at the Irish College in Rome are aware of your informant. When an individual is deliberately drip fed pictures and information that eventually end up on your blog then it's easy to find out who that person is. Remember the old saying, give a person enough rope ......

+Pat, I do not like the sound of that threat at 11:46. But it does show what we priests and seminarians are up against if we displeased our masters. I know, and am very glad, that such threats do not worry you. Such a threat is an empty threat by someone in hot water. I have been threatened on two occasions by my master for stepping out of line. Dublin PP.

Rev. P.P. at 12.13. Don't you think it's very wrong to have your name degraded by all kinds of nuances as is happening to a student at the Irish College? Tell us the nature of your greivance that you personally were threatened for being "out of line" - I cannot help thinking you are satisfying an obsession of Pat's - which is to throw everyone to the wolves! Be assured - unless you are close to Pat - dear Rev. P.P. - you too would be given for slaughter if it suited the furtherance of Pat's agenda....

13:07 I got to know +Pat ten years ago at a time of crisis in my life. A fellow Dublin priest recommended I contact him as I did not have faith in my own bishop. He drove 120 miles to Dublin to meet me and he arranged for me to spend some time in the home of a friend of his. Pat and his friend, a medical professional, got me back on the road very quickly. Pat and I are not social friends. He was a good friend in my time of need. I know he has helped many other sincere priests and seminarians. But he also challenges hypocrisy and corruption in our Church. I do not agree with him on everything. He was my Good Samaritan. His sword may be double edged. I felt the healing side of it. To this day no one, apart from him, his friend and I know what he did for me. Dublin PP.

P P. at 13.24: That may be your experience and thankfully you got through your tribulations with Pat's help. But don't allow Pat's narrative to colour your perceptions of everyone. Because of Pat's biased and prejudiced views on so many issues pertaining to Church and Priesthood, I woukdn't trust him. He has a habit of using any negativity to suit his agenda. I've had reason to seek wise and professional help, which, thankfully I found through a good spiritual confessor and a psychotherapist. I wouldn't trust my bosses too much either but I sought out wise and good people. Sometimes you're better not telling anyone in the "club" about your inner struggles but to seek help elsewhere. I wish you well. And by the way Pat, your usage of the word Taliban Catholics is very disingenuous and unacceptable. Learn instead to accept and respect the opinions of others.

Reading the post at 11.46 carefully Pat I found that no threat is implied as you suggest. If your whistle blower in Rome sends you a picture of someone just sat on a bus then you need to find yourself another whistle blower. I would also seriously question the authenticity of Dublin PP. He seems to contribute a lot on the blog and I'd be very surprised that a busy Dublin PP on a Friday has time to sit at his computer and contribute in such a way. Sounds dubious to me. I also think in all charity that calling some posters as Taliban is deeply offensive given the meaning of the term and you should know better to use language such as that. Anyhow don't expect this will get published.

Pat, surely you've dressed peculiarly over the years in your lifestyle!!. I'd imagine you weren't so pure all your life either! You hypocrite! How you are so quick to draw all kinds of sinister conclusions about people whom you don't know. As Judge Judy would say - hearsay is not evidence. But then, we know for a long time "truth" is not your agenda.

Yes indeed. When I was in a Christian Brothers school in Dublin - Saint Canice's on the NCR, the head brother, Brother Aherne told us that we had a "good angel" on one shoulder and a "bad angel" on the other.

Hmm...hmmm...Pat, you haven't always been a good angel either! Have you? Your blindness to your own moral and spiritual blindness is mind boggling at times. Look at your own life and its transgressions.

That statue was described only as ' "potentially suggestive" '? My eye! It is highly suggestive and should not have been 'erected' in the first place. The headmaster of this school has made a complete fool of himself by expressing such abominable judgement.

The statue is so suggestive that I find it 'hard' to believe the offending pose wasn't deliberate on the part of the sculptor.

I wonder how much was paid for this phallic monstrosity. Would have been better had the cost (which, I'm sure, was substantial) been donated to some worthy cause (Not the Church!) and a plaque put up to mark the event. I think St Martin would have preferred this to an expensive lump of offensive granite.

Magna. You've emerged again from your cave. Your utterly nonsensical and crazy observations and inane analysis on a mistake on a statue is bizarre. Not surprising. And to conclude such crazy judgment and sinister motivation on the school principal and sculptor reveals a weird, perverted mind. Magna, you spend too much time in isolation and misery. Get some intimacy to make you somewhat normal...

Pat says re/the sculpture "Apparently the bread is to be remodelled"Does that mean that the school management will have to cough up more dough?If they end up with a couple of baps will there be another row? Surely not!

The sculptor might have been aware - unless we go all Freudian and say that even though he claims it was innocently unintentional, the unconscious mind will always break through and show what is going on in our deepest repressed "id" areas!! So the sculpture, by that reasoning, would have made a Freudian slip which his respectable outer self would never acknowledge or want to admit to.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. The sculptor comes from a different culture. It is quite possible no harm was intended. Could they not find a sculptor nearer home to do the statue or were they penny pinching. Statues aside there are issues in the real world that need attention. A good start might be to treat all people with respect.

I was at a gay sauna yesterday. While I was in the changing room a middle-aged man came in. He was a picture of misery and loathing for the world. It was only when he took off his coat and revealed his hoodie I rwalised who he was... Actually his comments above were unobjectionable imho.